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Abilities are what champions use on the Field of Justice. The unique nature of a champion's abilities set them apart from the other champions. A champion's abilities also determine the champion's role in his or her team, how the champion should be played, and what items, runes, and masteries should be gotten to maximize effectiveness. Summoner spells are not abilities.

Baron Nashor and Vilemaw are the only non-champions to utilize abilities, although the Dragon has a passive on-hit DoT called "Burning".

Archetypes

Every champion has at least five unique abilities. Four of these abilities are learned over the course of a battle using ability points, and the fifth is an Innate Ability. One ability point is granted to every champion at the start of a game, and another point is earned by each champion every time they level up. A champion can level up individual abilities by spending subsequent ability points in those abilities which they have already learned.

Basic Ability: All champions feature three basic abilities, which are available from level 1 to a maximum of five ranks. Basic abilities cannot be ranked higher than half the level of the champion (rounded up), meaning a new rank is available every odd single-digit level, and requiring level 9 to max any individual skill.

Kha'Zix and Viktor have a total of six basic abilities including their upgraded forms, but the upgrade is permanent and replaces the standard ability.

Innate Ability: A champion’s innate ability passively affects the champion for the entire match. Every champion has one, and these abilities cannot be improved with ability points gained on level-up.

Syndra features an innate abilitiy with four independent effects. Prior to her minor kit rework in V3.9, Shyvana also possessed a passive with four independent effects. This is no longer the case, however.

Prior to Shyvana's release, Akali and Vladimir held the record with two effects each.

Ultimate Ability: A champion's fourth and feature ability is their ultimate. Summoners cannot invest skill points into their ultimates until at least champion level 6 and cannot again until levels 11 and 16, to a maximum of three ranks.

Including their upgraded forms, Kha'Zix and Viktor also have two ultimate abilities. However, as previously mentioned, these will replace the standard forms permanently.

Heimerdinger, Karma and Nidalee each have three ultimate abilities (four if you include the toggle, but in all cases this skill otherwise does nothing by itself).

Elise, Jayce, Karma, and Nidalee are the only champions with access to their ultimate abilities at level one. Each may invest skill points into their ultimates at levels 6, 11 and 16, allowing it to reach rank 4.

Gnar, Jayce and Quinn, with two ultimates and six basic abilities each, hold the record for the most abilities on a single champion.

Ability types

Active ability: This is the most abundant type of ability, having a one-time use effect, and are subject to a cooldown before they are available for use again.

On-hit effect: On-hit effects will trigger on a champion's autoattacks, but also some abilities.

Apply on-hit effects: These abilities are classified as autoattacks, and will apply on-hit effects instead of on-ability effects. To emphasize: these abilities do not apply spell vamp or Rylai's.

Barrage ability: A type of ability that can be cast several times and without mana cost before going on full cooldown. There is brief cooldown between multiple casts (generally 0.2-0.5 seconds, 2 for Kha'Zix) and if too much time is waited the additional casts are lost.

Self-Buffs: These are abilities that grant passive effects once activated. These effects last either a fixed amount of time, such as Kog'Maw'sBio-Arcane Barrage, or last until a one-off component has been used, such as Rammus'sPowerball.

Stocked: These abilities have a extremely low cooldown but rely on "stock" to use. Stock is generated over time and there is a capacity unique to each skill to how many stocks can be stocked. When the ability is used, it uses up 1 Stock. Cooldown reduction affects the time at which stock is generated.

Passive ability: These abilities are passive abilities that have persistent effects, and do not need to be activated per se. However, some passive abilities are unavailable under specific conditions, such as while the ability is on cooldown (Blitzcrank'sStatic Field) or upon taking damage (Teemo'sMove Quick). The ability will be activated again as soon as the specific condition has passed, i.e. the ability is off cooldown, or no damage has been taken for a certain amount of time. These are often compared to innate abilities.

Toggle ability: These abilities are used by activating them and remain active with persistent effects until they are deactivated. The toggling of an ability is not considered an activation, for the purposes of Sheen or Force Pulse, but mana consumption of toggled abilities will stack Tear of the Goddess.

Special toggles: These abilities are listed as being toggles, but have their own set of conditions: these abilities do count as activating an ability, and will toggle-off automatically if the champion moves too far away.

Stance ability: A type of ability currently unique to Udyr. Each stance has an individual cooldown and a shared global cooldown. Every stance provides an effect that lasts as long as the stance is active as well as an activation effect.

Attributes

Abilities have certain attributes that determine how they are used in game. These attributes include area, cooldown, cost, effect, and range.

Cooldown: All abilities have a cooldown, a length of time after the use of the ability in which the ability cannot be used again. Cooldown reduction reduces this time, to a maximum of 40% reduction of the ability's initial cooldown.

Some champions have abilities that refresh/reduce the cooldown period.

Some abilities have a secondary active function. The ability goes on cooldown after the secondary function has been triggered or the window for triggering it expires.

Cost: Most abilities, but not all, have a specific cost associated with them. Generally abilities cost mana, though some champions use health, energy, or other resource mechanics. When the ability is used, the champion loses the cost of the ability. If the champion has less than the cost of the ability, the ability cannot be used and its HUD icon changes color.

Range: The range of an ability determines how far away a target can be and still take the effect of the ability. This range generally does not appear on in-game tooltips, but placing one's cursor over the ability will display the range and targeting for that ability. Some abilities have Global range, meaning their range includes the entire map.

Targeting: All abilities which affect a unit other than the champion casting it are targeted in some way. If an ability has a specific target it will hit, it is referred to as targeted. Other forms of targeting are referred to by their type:

Skillshots are projectile-based abilities, generally cast in a line away from the champions location, which only affect targets the projectile collides with.

Click-on abilities require a target and vision of it to cast. Most of these abilities are to either apply a buff or to use a strong projectile to assault the target. A simple click is all that is needed to start casting a Click-on at a target

Cast time: While most abilities have either an instant cast time or a slightly delayed instant cast of 0.5 seconds, there are several which prevent the caster from taking any other action while the ability is cast. Most of those, called channeled abilities, can be interrupted, either by the caster or by any form of Crowd Control (excluding Slows, Snares, and Blinds) applied by an enemy unit.

Effects

Every ability has an effect. These effects vary widely, but can generally be broken down as follows:

Buffs: Increase the target's statistics while active. Passive and Toggle abilities are most likely to have this type of effect. Active abilities which give buffs have higher bonuses than Passives or Toggles due to their limited duration. Some champions have AoE buffs for nearby allies, referred to as auras.

Debuff - Negative status effect given to a champion, minion or monster that negatively impacts their combat performance in some way. Debuffs can reduce the target's statistics, cause damage over time or trigger status effects or damage (For example Leona'sSunlight would debuff an enemy champion and trigger if an allied champion would damage the target).

Crowd Control: This category includes all effects that reduce the fighting ability of enemy units. The page includes a table with notes on each.

Damage Reduction: Reduces damage dealt to the target for the duration. This damage reduction does not apply to true damage and applies before reduction from armor or magic resistance.

Gold: Gives champions more gold than the base rate, either over time or on kill.

Healing: Heals a target. Healing generally scales with ability power. Support champions are most likely to have healing abilities, and are the only ones to have healing abilities which target a champion other than themselves. Several non-support champions have abilities that heal only themselves.

Immunity: Prevents certain types of crowd control from affecting the target, which is usually the champion using the ability.

Invulnerability: The target cannot be damaged for the duration. Currently only Kayle'sIntervention provides a temporary invulnerability. Certain abilities also make units untargetable, such as Fizz'sPlayful. See the page for more details.

Movement: Moves the champion or the champion's target from place to place. This can be a dash, a blink, or a teleport. Many of these abilities allow a champion to move through otherwise solid obstacles/terrain in a similar manner to the summoner spell Flash.

Resurrection: Brings target back to life if reduced to below 0 health, though other conditions may apply.

Shield: Absorbs a certain amount of damage for the target, in place of losing health.

Stealth: Target becomes unseen and untargetable until revealed or duration expires. The page contains further information, including means of detecting stealthed champions.